Pumpkin Ale

[Brewer #378441]

I am a newbie so I am looking for a relatively easy recipe for a pumpkin ale.
Thanks

 

[Sandy Feet]

If you have John Palmer's book How to Brew, there is one in there, and somebody else posted it for me not long ago on another post.
Basically 1/3 Pale, 1/3 Munich, 1/3 Vienna. Be VERY minimal on the spice, especially Allspice. You can bake your pumpkin for about 60 minutes at 325-350F, add some brown sugar when you scoop out the insides. I liquified mine in a blender and added it to the strike water so I wouldn't have 50 billion pounds of sh** in my fermenter. If you can't get liquid yeast, use S-04. You won't need much in the way of hops, go very minimal as that is what the spice is for. Pumpkin has very little sugar, and you will need a lot of it to get anything more than aroma.

 

[No Outlet Brewing]

I got this advice from this forum in the past....Don't use pumpkin because it's a royal pain unless you like dealing with stuck sparges. Brew a nice amber ale and add some pumpkin spice flavoring. The pumpkin spice flavor is what most people are looking for. I brewed two with real pumpkin and one the later way and the last one was my most popular and way easier to brew. Just my two cents.

 

[Zefram]

I used to make this one every year when I was brewing in the kitchen with extract. I originally used real pumpkin, but learned it is really just the spice people notice. This one is darker than most, but I always got positive feedback with it... decrease or drop the chocolate if you want it more amber.

3 lb ea amber DME and light DME
1 lb 60L and 0.5 chocolate (steeping)
2 oz EKG for 60 min (about 33 IBU)
4 cinnamon sticks, 3 cracked whole nutmegs, 6 allspice for 60 min
1 oz Fuggles for 5 min
British ale yeast (pick your fav... I use Windsor or S-O4)

Cheers!

 

[Brewer #378441]

If you have John Palmer's book How to Brew, there is one in there, and somebody else posted it for me not long ago on another post.
Basically 1/3 Pale, 1/3 Munich, 1/3 Vienna. Be VERY minimal on the spice, especially Allspice. You can bake your pumpkin for about 60 minutes at 325-350F, add some brown sugar when you scoop out the insides. I liquified mine in a blender and added it to the strike water so I wouldn't have 50 billion pounds of sh** in my fermenter. If you can't get liquid yeast, use S-04. You won't need much in the way of hops, go very minimal as that is what the spice is for. Pumpkin has very little sugar, and you will need a lot of it to get anything more than aroma.

If you have John Palmer's book How to Brew, there is one in there, and somebody else posted it for me not long ago on another post.
Basically 1/3 Pale, 1/3 Munich, 1/3 Vienna. Be VERY minimal on the spice, especially Allspice. You can bake your pumpkin for about 60 minutes at 325-350F, add some brown sugar when you scoop out the insides. I liquified mine in a blender and added it to the strike water so I wouldn't have 50 billion pounds of sh** in my fermenter. If you can't get liquid yeast, use S-04. You won't need much in the way of hops, go very minimal as that is what the spice is for. Pumpkin has very little sugar, and you will need a lot of it to get anything more than aroma.

Much appreciated. Thank you

 

[Brewer #378441]

I got this advice from this forum in the past....Don't use pumpkin because it's a royal pain unless you like dealing with stuck sparges. Brew a nice amber ale and add some pumpkin spice flavoring. The pumpkin spice flavor is what most people are looking for. I brewed two with real pumpkin and one the later way and the last one was my most popular and way easier to brew. Just my two cents.

Perfect. I was dreading the extra time and mess.Thanks

 

[Brewer #378441]

I used to make this one every year when I was brewing in the kitchen with extract. I originally used real pumpkin, but learned it is really just the spice people notice. This one is darker than most, but I always got positive feedback with it... decrease or drop the chocolate if you want it more amber.

3 lb ea amber DME and light DME
1 lb 60L and 0.5 chocolate (steeping)
2 oz EKG for 60 min (about 33 IBU)
4 cinnamon sticks, 3 cracked whole nutmegs, 6 allspice for 60 min
1 oz Fuggles for 5 min
British ale yeast (pick your fav... I use Windsor or S-O4)

Cheers!

Awesome. Thanks Zefram

 

[Buckzilla]

I have 2 going right now and never use pumpkin as I had bad experiences. All I do is use the Smashing Pumkin recipe from northern brewer in and it’s just fine. I add more nutmeg. I also like to twist some cinnamon and sugar on the rim of the glass.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1287017/lulu-pumpkin-ale

 

[Brewer #378441]

I have 2 going right now and never use pumpkin as I had bad experiences. All I do is use the Smashing Pumkin recipe from northern brewer in and it’s just fine. I add more nutmeg. I also like to twist some cinnamon and sugar on the rim of the glass.


Beautiful. Thanks.

I got this advice from this forum in the past....Don't use pumpkin because it's a royal pain unless you like dealing with stuck sparges. Brew a nice amber ale and add some pumpkin spice flavoring. The pumpkin spice flavor is what most people are looking for. I brewed two with real pumpkin and one the later way and the last one was my most popular and way easier to brew. Just my two cents.

Awesome. Thanks Zefram

Do you add spice at the end of boil or in the fermentor?

 

[Buckzilla]

Do you add spice at the end of boil or in the fermentor?

I add it 10 mins left in the boil, mix well with a spatula then add my chiller. First time I didn’t mix and never again. Stuck to the sides and chiller, pain in the ass.

 

[No Outlet Brewing]

Do you add spice at the end of boil or in the fermentor?

I add the pumpkin spice pack (from Austin Homebrew) for the last 15 mins of the boil.

 

[Sandy Feet]

I put mine in at flameout. I also want to clarify..the others that posted that they only used the spice are accurate for the majority of people. I do notice a pumpkin beer with actual pumpkin, even if for just aroma. I also use BIIB, so I have to worry about efficiency, but not stuck sparges. I know I don't get much from the pumpkin, and I know about the crap in the fermenter, so that is why I am very low tech and put it in the strike water as close to a liquid as possible.

 

[Zefram]

Do you add spice at the end of boil or in the fermentor?

I add mine with the bittering hops, but I use whole spices (break up the cinnamon sticks and crack the nutmeg) versus the powdered spice mix. I realize this is earlier than most, but it has worked for me

 

[The Brew Mentor]

There are many ways to do a pumpkin beer.
For me, after stick mash, harsh spicing, etc, I use pumpkin and spice in the mash
Then only a small amount after flame out.
YMMV

 

[Dornbox]

I got this advice from this forum in the past....Don't use pumpkin because it's a royal pain unless you like dealing with stuck sparges. Brew a nice amber ale and add some pumpkin spice flavoring. The pumpkin spice flavor is what most people are looking for. I brewed two with real pumpkin and one the later way and the last one was my most popular and way easier to brew. Just my two cents.

Brülosophy did a side by each. One with pumpkin and spices and one with just spices. The results were inconclusive and even the brewer couldn’t distinguish the two. I think if you have a really malty base with a touch of spice. I think I can tell when a beer is just spice and no pumpkin but the reality is they’re probably just beers that had lower mash temps and higher attenuation. Those spices need a malt background. If you have that, you probably won’t miss the pumpkin IMHO… but I’d probably use the pumpkin because I’d feel like a fraud if I didn’t.